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Europe & Eurasia
Economy & Business
Central Asia’s leaders get into specifics on trade-boosting initiatives
In the collective daydreams of Central Asian presidents, there is no end to the possibilities for regional integration.The ideas came thick and fast at...
Energy
Interest surges in Turkmen gas
Turkmenistan's huge gas reserves have been generating considerable interest from potential importers following Ashgabat's announcement in late July that it is open to the development...
Development Assistance
US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery announced
President Joe Biden announced on September 14 the appointment of Penny Pritzker as the US Special Representative for Ukraine’s Economic Recovery.In this role, she...
Invasion of Ukraine
Moldova’s Maia Sandu is the ‘Iron Lady’ of Eastern Europe
As the war in Ukraine passes the year-and-a-half milestone, a critical ally for Kyiv and Washington is the tiny nation of the Republic of...
Armenia
With Armenia defeated tensions between Yerevan and Russia reach a turning point
Relations between Armenia and its traditional strategic partner Russia are deteriorating fast. With Yerevan's fundamental defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh - the 30-year-old Moscow-backed separatist region...
Economy & Business
Uzbekistan’s remarkable resurgence is a tale of growth, reform, potential
In an era characterized by global turbulence and uncertainty, there are few stories as compelling as that of Uzbekistan. A country that has weathered...
Zero Tolerance
Zelensky Athens visit eclipses Mitsotakis’ informal Western Balkans Summit
Receiving a full house of Western Balkan leaders, as well as several EU luminaries, in Athens on an evening when much of northern Greece...
Energy
Turkmenistan signals major change in energy-export stance
A big shift is brewing for Caspian Basin energy exports. In a diplomatic about-face, Turkmenistan has signaled its readiness to develop a Trans-Caspian pipeline...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The Beleri case as bellwether for democracy in Albania
The standard definition of a political prisoner is: “One imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for...
Agriculture & Food Security
Possible new solutions to Ukraine’s grain export challenge emerge
In view of the collapse of the UN’s Black Sea Grain Initiative in July at Russia’s insistence, work is proceeding in multiple sectors to...
EU Institutions
Latest gambit in North Macedonia seeks to break impasse with Bulgaria
At the end of July, the largest ethnic Albanian political party in North Macedonia, the Democratic Union for Integration, presented an innovative proposal to...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
The accidental harm-reduction champion
Sweden is set to become the world’s first officially smoke-free country. This will save lives, reduce health costs, and improve the quality of life...
Economy & Business
US-UK Strategic Sanctions Dialogue inaugurated
Building on the unique economic and security partnership between the two nations, the US Department of State hosted a senior UK government delegation for...
Energy
Kazakhstan’s Deputy FM says EU & US ties remain strong as Central Asia’s largest country emerges as regional power
In the three-plus decades since Kazakhstan emerged as an independent nation from the ashes of the Soviet Union's 1991 collapse, the Central Asian giant...
Columns
Energy crisis prompts SMEs to boost renewables, energy savings
The energy crisis, high prices and threat of supply disruption following Russia’s war against Ukraine has prompted many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to...
Global Affairs
Uzbekistan’s Mirziyoyev re-elected
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan - As expected, Uzbekistan’s presidential elections held on July 9 were won by the incumbent, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, with 87 percent of eligible...
Invasion of Ukraine
Prigozhin’s inglorious rebellion
Images of camouflaged gunmen seizing government buildings in a post-Soviet city were eerily reminiscent of what the world witnessed in the spring of 2014...
Greece
Back to Business: Greek conservatives rout socialist opposition parties in second round elections
Delivering an undeniable demonstration of Greece’s current focus on stability and the need to generate continued economic growth, the June 25 election produced the...
Albania
Iranians hold rallies to protest police raid on opposition’s Albania-based HQ
Protests were held outside Albanian embassies and consulates in at least ten cities on June 20th and 21st following a raid by police on...
Invasion of Ukraine
Conflict, migration, and demography in Russia and its border regions
Despite the absence of a clear definition of “ethnic group,” the term generally refers to people with a common history, culture, and ancestry. Russians...
Invasion of Ukraine
Working against Ukraine’s own interests
As the Ukrainian counter-offensive begins, maintaining American support is absolutely vital to Kyiv’s success. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have proven their courage, but even...
Analysis
A post-Berlusconi Italy could find itself at an era-defining political turning point
A new era began in Italy on June 12 when Silvio Berlusconi, the polarizing and towering political figure who dominated Italian politics for nearly...
Energy
Astana International Forum addresses climate change, energy security, green transition
As many countries are planning sustainability and decarbonization strategies to meet climate targets, Kazakhstan, one of the world’s largest energy producers, wants to be...
The Negroni Diaries
Strange goings on in Northern Greece seem to worry Ankara
Government-linked Turkish media have indicated concern about a series of visits and events in Greece’s Evros prefecture -- the Greek-Turkish border region -- which...
Energy
UK eyes energy security, increasing supplies amid stronger ties with Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan can play a special role in energy security in the new global environment, considering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and transition to a green...
Defense & Security
White House support for F-16s to Ukraine is a major momentum shift in the 18-month war
After months of waffling and amid increasingly desperate pleas from Kyiv, the White House has signaled to European allies in recent weeks that the...
The Negroni Diaries
Ukraine’s ‘Doolittle Raid’
Ukraine has proven that a numerically superior combatant can be defeated when confronted with superior tactics and a better-trained, motivated, and equipped opponent.
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Belgium’s prisoner swap with Iran proves the EU is unwilling to punish state sponsors of terror
An Iranian terrorist, Asadollah Assadi, is heading home from Belgium just two years into a 20-year sentence. He is the beneficiary of the Islamic...
Kosovo
Serb boycotts, protests trigger new unrest in Kosovo
The latest cycle of unrest in Kosovo, a direct result of Serbian interference in Kosovo’s April 23 municipal elections, exploded into violence on May...
Greece
Boomerang! Greek socialists’ election jiggering backfires
Even though the Greek left-socialist party Syriza massively reconfigured the electoral system in 2016 to favor their long-term return plans before being ousted by...
Op-Eds & Guest Contributors
Spain’s solution to the current high energy prices may end up costing it dearly
The announcement in mid-May by the Spanish Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, that Spain and Portugal have reached a “political agreement” with the European...
IT & Telecom
Washington issues reward offer for Russian ransomware actor
On May 16, the State Department announced a reward offer, under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program, of up to $10 million, for information...
Interviews
Former MI5 chief warns of national cybersecurity threats
Following the US, EU, and UK's decisions to ban China’s TikTok from government phones over security fears and recent reports of a Russian cyber...
Spain
Global Equality Fund: Spain becomes the 18th member country
On the occasion of Spain joining the Global Equality Fund, the Governments of Spain and the United States issued the following joint statement, dated...
Finland
Finland joins NATO
Before the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, only a third of Finns supported joining NATO. Russia’s war, however, led to almost unanimous overnight support amongst Finnish voters for membership in the alliance.
Europe & Eurasia
The unfiltered truth about recent Serbia-Russia relations
Although Moscow perceives Serbia as a trading currency in the geopolitical market of great powers. Serbia believes that its destiny is not to be betrayed by beliefs, friends, allies or history.
Defense & Security
When it comes to defense, the politicians must listen to those who know best – the generals
The halls of power are walked by people who know little, care even less and yet have the right to supersede and ignore the advice of those who know better.
Zero Tolerance
Silicon Valley Bank financial contagion contained – for now
The world’s top policymakers and international financial leaders acted effectively in the days following the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank. They appear to have dealt positively with the risk of wider global financial contagion.
Africa
France’s policies in Africa diminish its influence; inevitably opening the door to Russia & China
In a recent story titled "How Russia and China are trying to drive France out of Africa", what was not lost on the reader...
Energy
EU plan to centralize gas purchases near impossible to implement
The global gas supply market will be much tighter this year than it was in 2022. The need for the EU to buy more gas, especially more liquified natural gas, from elsewhere will be greater.
Energy
Kazakhstan’s new parliament could usher in green energy, rare earth investments
Kazakhstan held internationally monitored elections for the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, on March 19, following major constitutional reforms, which most...
Azerbaijan
The Iranian regime is becoming ruthlessly paranoid about ethnic Azeri demands for civil rights guarantees
Complete disregard for the well-being of Iran’s Azeri minority has sparked a wave of intense anger within the community.
The Negroni Diaries
EU-Turkey earthquake relief conference: Time to get serious
The European Union is hosting a reconstruction conference in Brussels on March 20 to focus on the aftermath of Turkey’s devastating February 6 earthquakes,...
Bulgaria
Energy supply diversification out of Russia’s orbit is a top priority for Bulgaria
Bulgaria intends to diversify its energy resources, including supplying the country’s main refinery in Burgas - the largest in the Balkans - with non-Russian...
Europe & Eurasia
Recovery from the disaster of the century needs more than a few months of international assistance
Two devastating earthquakes hit the Turkish-Syrian border on February 6. The epicenter of the first 7.7 magnitude quake struck 34 kilometers west of Gaziantep,...
Georgia
Georgia has shown the world that a Kremlin project can be defeated
In early March, the world’s attention was on Georgia. We saw massive protests fueled by anger, concerns and fear, and eventually, we witnessed a...
Europe & Eurasia
Putin’s New START withdrawal has broad implications
Vladimir Putin continues to persuade Russians that the West provoked his imperialist war of aggression against Ukraine. His announcement that he would no longer...
Energy
Energy-strapped Germany sets ambitious 30 GW offshore wind target by 2030
Germany, which has been struggling to fill its massive energy gap following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and reduction of natural gas deliveries, is planning...
Invasion of Ukraine
Sanctions, sanctions everywhere
On February 24, 2023, the US Government alongside G-7 leaders announced via a White House statement a new set of trade and economic measures...
Defense & Security
Providing Ukraine with advanced Western fighters is a logical step towards battlefield success
While Ukraine may have weathered the storm of Russia’s initial onslaught and retaliated with a force and determination largely thought to have been beyond...
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